1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method and an apparatus for concurrently pressing the front, back and sleeves of both long and short sleeve garments on the same pressing machine.
2. Description of the Background Art
Presently, in the field of finishing shirts, three separate machines are normally utilized. The first machine is for pressing the collars and cuffs. The second machine is for finishing the sleeves. The third machine is for pressing the body of the shirt. A continuing effort is being made to increase the efficiency of the shirt finishing process by minimizing the number of machines necessary for the finishing and by simplifying the machines. By way of example, consider U.S. Pat. No. 3,654,714 to North directed to a steam-air garment press; U.S. Pat. No. 3,679,106 to Beckett directed to a control system for garment finishing apparatus; U.S. Pat. No. 3,715,064 to Eubank directed to a garment finishing apparatus; U.S. Pat. No. 4,634,030 to Uchikoshi directed toward a laundry presser for simultaneously pressing multiple clothing sections; U.S. Pat. No. 4,843,745 to Oberlye directed toward a press and method of making same; U.S. Pat. No. 5,012,962 to Downie directed toward an indexing mechanism for a mannequin carriage having a slidable, pivotable support and index bar moveable by a fluid cylinder for movement between a dressing position and a garment press; U.S. Pat. No. 5,065,535 to Gill directed toward an indexing system for rotary garment press; U.S. Pat. No. 5,474,216 to Harrod et al. directed toward a method and apparatus for concurrently pressing the front and back of a shirt and finishing the sleeves through the use of air pressure; U.S. Pat. No. 5,636,773 to Harrod et al. directed toward a method and apparatus for finishing the sleeves and pressing the body of a shirt in combination with an integrated collar cuff presser; and lastly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,692,326 to Mohan et al. directed toward a shirt pressing apparatus with movable cuff clamps.
Therefore, there exists a need in the art to improve and preserve the quality of a short sleeve garment, improve operator efficiency and reduce operator fatigue while providing a short sleeve clamping mechanism for a garment pressing machine which adapts to varied lengths of sleeves.
Nothing in the prior art provides the benefits attendant with the present invention.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improvement which overcomes the inadequacies of the prior art devices and which is a significant contribution to the advancement of the art.
Another object of the present invention is to press the front and back of a garment while concurrently finishing both short and long sleeves.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a first stopping pin for positioning each of the rotatable clamps in a retracted position on each of the elongated arms, and a second stopping pin for positioning each of the rotatable clamps in a loading position on each of the elongated arms.
Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide a pressing apparatus where the pair of elongated arms are extended through gravity to a pressing position and contracted through a piston to a loading position.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a pressing apparatus that uses a clip to effectively finish long sleeve garments and a rotatable clamp to effectively finish short sleeve garments.
It is a further object of the present invention to increase the efficiency, simplicity and safety of garment finishing machines while reducing the cost through reduced equipment.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved pressing apparatus for finishing a sleeve of a garment comprising, in combination, a buck in the general form of a wearer having a front and a back and opposite lateral sides therebetween and adapted to hold at least a front and back of the garment in an orientation for being pressed; a pair of elongated arms positioned on opposite lateral sides of the buck, said elongated arms extending away from said buck to finish the sleeve of the garment and said elongated arms contracting towards said buck to load and unload the garment; a clip positioned at an upper end of each of said elongated arms, each of said clips being formed with resiliently urged fingers and adapted to receive an area of a long sleeve of the garment on the buck to be finished at the region at the end of the long sleeve to form an obstruction for the flow of heated air and steam therethrough during a finishing operation; and a clamp positioned along the length of each of said elongated arms, each of said clamps having a resiliently urged end adapted to receive an area of a short sleeve of the garment on the buck to be finished at the region at the end of the short sleeve to form an obstruction for the flow of heated air and steam therethrough during the finishing operation, whereby the pressing apparatus may be used to press long sleeve garments and alternatively, upon use of the clamps, short sleeve garments.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved pressing apparatus of the type in which a buck is adapted to hold at least a front and back of a long sleeve garment, and in which a clip is positioned at an upper end of a pair of elongated arms that extend the sleeves of the long sleeve garment away from opposite sides of the buck, wherein the improvement comprises a clamp positioned along the length of each of the elongated arms, each of said clamps having a resiliently urged end adapted to receive an end of a short sleeve of a short sleeve garment to form an obstruction for the flow of heated air and steam therethrough during a finishing operation, whereby the pressing apparatus may be used to press long sleeve garments and alternatively, upon use of the clamps, short sleeve garments.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a new and improved method of pressing a garment wherein a long sleeve garment is placed on a buck adapted to hold at least a front and back of the long sleeve garment, and each of the long sleeves of the long sleeve garment are extended away from opposite sides of the buck through a clip positioned at an upper end of a pair of elongated arms, the improvement comprising contracting the pair of elongated arms towards said buck; placing a short sleeve garment having a pair of short sleeves onto the buck; positioning a clamp on each of the elongated arms into a load position, said clamps being positioned along the length of the pair of elongated arms; placing an end of each of the short sleeves of the short sleeve garment into the respective clamp; extending the pair of elongated arms away from said buck; flowing heated air and steam through the short sleeve garment during a finishing operation; and contracting the pair of elongated arms towards said buck to unload the short sleeve garment.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved method for finishing a pair of sleeves on a garment comprising the steps of providing a buck in the general form of a wearer having a front and a back and opposite lateral sides therebetween and adapted to hold at least a front and back of the garment in an orientation for being pressed; providing a pair of elongated arms positioned on the opposite lateral sides of the buck; contracting said pair of elongated arms towards said buck; placing an end of each long sleeve of a long sleeve garment in a clip positioned at an upper end of each of said elongated arms, extending said pair of elongated arms away from said buck; flowing heated air and steam through the long sleeve garment during a finishing operation; contracting said pair of elongated arms towards said buck to unload the long sleeve garment; placing an end of each short sleeve of a short sleeve garment in a clamp positioned along the length of each of said elongated arms; extending said pair of elongated arms away from said buck; flowing heated air and steam through the short sleeve garment during the finishing operation; and contracting said pair of elongated arms towards said buck to unload the short sleeve garment.
The foregoing has outlined some of the pertinent objects of the present invention. These objects should be construed to be merely illustrative of some of the more prominent features and applications of the intended invention. Many other beneficial results can be attained by applying the disclosed invention in a different manner or modifying the invention within the scope of the disclosure. Accordingly, other objects and a fuller understanding of the invention may be had by referring to the summary of the invention and the detailed description of the preferred embodiment in addition to the scope of the invention defined by the claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
For the purpose of summarizing this invention, this invention comprises a method and an apparatus for concurrently pressing the front and back and sleeves of both long and short sleeve garments on the same pressing apparatus through the use of a rotatable clamp.
A feature of the present invention is to press the front and back of a garment while concurrently finishing both short and long sleeves.
Yet another feature of the present invention is to provide a first stopping pin for positioning each of the rotatable clamps in a retracted position on each of the elongated arms, and a second stopping pin for positioning each of the rotatable clamps in a loading position on each of the elongated arms.
Another feature of the present invention is to provide a pressing apparatus where the pair of elongated arms are extended through gravity to a pressing position and contracted through a piston to a loading position.
Still another feature of the present invention is to provide a pressing apparatus that uses a clip to effectively finish long sleeve garments and a rotatable clamp to effectively finish short sleeve garments.
Still yet another feature of the present invention is to increase the efficiency, simplicity and safety of garment finishing machines while reducing the cost through reduced equipment.
Another feature of the present invention is to provide a new and improved pressing apparatus for finishing a sleeve of a garment comprising, in combination a buck in the general form of a wearer having a front and a back and opposite lateral sides therebetween and adapted to hold at least a front and back of the garment in an orientation for being pressed. A pair of elongated arms are positioned on opposite lateral sides of the buck. These elongated arms are extended away from the buck to finish the sleeve of the garment that has been placed on the buck. These same elongated arms are contracted towards the buck to load and unload the garment that is to be pressed. A clip is positioned at an upper end of each of the elongated arms, each of the clips are formed with resiliently urged fingers which are adapted to receive an area of a long sleeve of the garment on the buck to be finished at the region at the end of the long sleeve. The resiliently urged fingers of each clip form an obstruction in the flow of heated air and steam therethrough during a finishing operation allowing the long sleeves of the garment to be finished at the same time as the front and back of the garment. In addition, a rotatable clamp is positioned along the length of each of the elongated arms, each of the rotatable clamps have a resiliently urged end adapted to receive an area of a short sleeve of the garment on the buck to be finished at the region at the end of the short sleeve. The resiliently urged end of each clamp forms an obstruction in the flow of heated air and steam therethrough during a finishing operation allowing the short sleeves of the garment to be finished at the same time as the front and back of the garment. Whereby the pressing apparatus may be used to press long sleeve garments and alternatively, upon use of the rotatable clamps, short sleeve garments.
Still another feature of the present invention is to provide a new and improved pressing apparatus of the type in which a buck is adapted to hold at least a front and back of a long sleeve garment. The long sleeve is held in a clip which is positioned at an upper end of a pair of elongated arms that extend the sleeves of the long sleeve garment away from opposite sides of the buck. The improvement comprises a rotatable clamp positioned along the length of each of the elongated arms. Each of the rotatable clamps has a resiliently urged end that is adapted to receive an end of a short sleeve of a short sleeve garment. The resiliently urged end of each clamp forms an obstruction in the flow of heated air and steam therethrough during a finishing operation allowing the short sleeves of the garment to be finished at the same time as the front and back of the garment. Whereby the pressing apparatus may be used to press long sleeve garments and alternatively, upon use of the clamps, short sleeve garments.
Another feature of the present invention is to provide a new and improved method of pressing a garment wherein a long sleeve garment is placed on a buck adapted to hold at least a front and back of the long sleeve garment. Each of the long sleeves of the long sleeve garment are extended away from opposite sides of the buck through a clip positioned at an upper end of a pair of elongated arms. The improved method comprises the steps of contracting the pair of elongated arms towards the buck. Placing a short sleeve garment on the buck. Rotating a clamp that is positioned along the length of each of the elongated arms into a load position. The rotatable clamp having a resilient urged end. Placing an end of each of the short sleeves of the short sleeve garment into the resilient urged end of the respective clamp. The pair of elongated arms are extended away from the buck to extend the short sleeves of the short sleeve garment into a finishing position. Heated air and steam are flown through the short sleeve garment during the finishing operation. The pair of elongated arms are contracted towards the buck in order to unload the short sleeve garment from the pressing apparatus.
Still another feature of the present invention is to provide a new and improved method for finishing a pair of sleeves on a garment comprising the steps of providing a buck in the general form of a wearer having a front, a back and opposite lateral sides therebetween. The buck is adapted to hold at least a front and back of the garment in an orientation for being pressed. A pair of elongated arms are provided that are positioned on the opposite lateral sides of the buck. The pair of elongated arms are contracted towards the buck in order to the load the a long sleeve garment for pressing. An end of each long sleeve of the long sleeve garment is placed in a clip positioned at an upper end of each of the elongated arms. The pair of elongated arms are extended away from the buck to extend the long sleeves of the long sleeve garment into a finishing position. Heated air and steam are flown through the long sleeve garment during the finishing operation. The pair of elongated arms are contracted towards the buck in order to unload the long sleeve garment from the pressing apparatus. In the alternative, a short sleeve garment is placed on the buck for pressing. An end of each short sleeve of the short sleeve garment is placed in a rotatable clamp that is positioned along the length of each of the elongated arms. The pair of elongated arms are extended away from the buck to extend the short sleeves of the short sleeve garment into a finishing position. Heated air and steam are flown through the short sleeve garment during the finishing operation. The pair of elongated arms are contracted towards the buck in order to unload the short sleeve garment from the pressing apparatus.
The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the more pertinent and important features of the present invention in order that the detailed description of the invention that follows may be better understood so that the present contribution to the art can be more fully appreciated. Additional features of the invention will be described hereinafter which form the subject of the claims of the invention. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the conception and the specific embodiment disclosed may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present invention. It should also be realized by those skilled in the art that such equivalent constructions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.